Life of Pi

A place for DIY project discussions.
George Hincapie
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Life of Pi

Unread post by George Hincapie »

Have you any intention of trying Roon? I have read that Roon SQ is at least the equal of Volumio and it is DIGI+ Pro enabled already, with a HiFi Berry specific build.

User avatar
Fretless
Posts: 9294
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 12:15 pm
Location: Somewhere in Holland
Has thanked: 1488 times
Been thanked: 2280 times
Netherlands

Re: Life of Pi

Unread post by Fretless »

Roon has a subscription cost which puts me off a bit, also I can't find mention of Digi+ Pro support there.

Rune doesn't yet appear to have a Pro driver ready - or do you know something more ?

Upstairs:
Vinyl
Pro-Ject 1.2 + Grado Sig Jr + Cambridge Alva Duo
DigiVolumio PC + Kiss DP-500 + Sabaj A20d
NVA: P50sa - Cube2 - SSP - LS6+ Sabaj A10a (x2)
Downstairs:
Vinyl
Logic DM101 + Syrinx LE1 + Grado Sig MCX
DigiDenafrips Ares II + Volumio PC + Cambridge CXC
NVA: P50 - BMU+ Aiyima A07 MAX (x2) + Arcam One
HP: HifiBerry Digi+ PRO + Sabaj A10d
Office:
Allo DigiOne SIG + SMSL M300se + Douk G4 (x2)
Mission 760 + Monolith THX AAA 887
Headphones: German Maestro & AudioQuest

User avatar
Fretless
Posts: 9294
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 12:15 pm
Location: Somewhere in Holland
Has thanked: 1488 times
Been thanked: 2280 times
Netherlands

Re: Life of Pi

Unread post by Fretless »

Playing around with Moode 3.1, I noticed in the System Configuration a new option for the Linux Kernel - there is now an experimental 'Advanced' option that offers special low latency processing for improved audio quality and up to 384K bitrates....

.... AND (gasp) native DSD processing !!!! (not tried it yet, though)

Switching over to this setting does slightly improve transparency, definition and 'presence' in SQ.

:ugeek: :banana-explosion:

Upstairs:
Vinyl
Pro-Ject 1.2 + Grado Sig Jr + Cambridge Alva Duo
DigiVolumio PC + Kiss DP-500 + Sabaj A20d
NVA: P50sa - Cube2 - SSP - LS6+ Sabaj A10a (x2)
Downstairs:
Vinyl
Logic DM101 + Syrinx LE1 + Grado Sig MCX
DigiDenafrips Ares II + Volumio PC + Cambridge CXC
NVA: P50 - BMU+ Aiyima A07 MAX (x2) + Arcam One
HP: HifiBerry Digi+ PRO + Sabaj A10d
Office:
Allo DigiOne SIG + SMSL M300se + Douk G4 (x2)
Mission 760 + Monolith THX AAA 887
Headphones: German Maestro & AudioQuest

George Hincapie
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Life of Pi

Unread post by George Hincapie »

Is the Pi powerful enough for DSD processing?

User avatar
Fretless
Posts: 9294
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 12:15 pm
Location: Somewhere in Holland
Has thanked: 1488 times
Been thanked: 2280 times
Netherlands

Re: Life of Pi

Unread post by Fretless »

George Hincapie wrote:Is the Pi powerful enough for DSD processing?
.... we shall see :think:

Most Pi music playing software does do 'DSD over PCM' playback, so I think that DSD shouldn't be a problem for the processor.
The bottleneck might be on the speed of an SPDIF connection, is there sufficient headroom there? DSD protocols tend to be restricted to USB-only connections.

Upstairs:
Vinyl
Pro-Ject 1.2 + Grado Sig Jr + Cambridge Alva Duo
DigiVolumio PC + Kiss DP-500 + Sabaj A20d
NVA: P50sa - Cube2 - SSP - LS6+ Sabaj A10a (x2)
Downstairs:
Vinyl
Logic DM101 + Syrinx LE1 + Grado Sig MCX
DigiDenafrips Ares II + Volumio PC + Cambridge CXC
NVA: P50 - BMU+ Aiyima A07 MAX (x2) + Arcam One
HP: HifiBerry Digi+ PRO + Sabaj A10d
Office:
Allo DigiOne SIG + SMSL M300se + Douk G4 (x2)
Mission 760 + Monolith THX AAA 887
Headphones: German Maestro & AudioQuest

George Hincapie
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Life of Pi

Unread post by George Hincapie »


User avatar
Fretless
Posts: 9294
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 12:15 pm
Location: Somewhere in Holland
Has thanked: 1488 times
Been thanked: 2280 times
Netherlands

Re: Life of Pi

Unread post by Fretless »

Yes, Pi's are not built as audio players - and are very 'noisy'. A good linear power supply will definitely provide audible improvement. I looked at laboratory-style power units and that is a possibility. Powerbanks meant for recharging phones/tablets work very well, providing clean DC and using an Audioquest Jitterbug also helps too neutralise internal electronic disturbances.

I know that SBooster make a version of their BOTW linear PSU that is suitable for the Pi as well.

Upstairs:
Vinyl
Pro-Ject 1.2 + Grado Sig Jr + Cambridge Alva Duo
DigiVolumio PC + Kiss DP-500 + Sabaj A20d
NVA: P50sa - Cube2 - SSP - LS6+ Sabaj A10a (x2)
Downstairs:
Vinyl
Logic DM101 + Syrinx LE1 + Grado Sig MCX
DigiDenafrips Ares II + Volumio PC + Cambridge CXC
NVA: P50 - BMU+ Aiyima A07 MAX (x2) + Arcam One
HP: HifiBerry Digi+ PRO + Sabaj A10d
Office:
Allo DigiOne SIG + SMSL M300se + Douk G4 (x2)
Mission 760 + Monolith THX AAA 887
Headphones: German Maestro & AudioQuest

George Hincapie
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Life of Pi

Unread post by George Hincapie »

Views on this? Seems cheap...I have no idea if it looks decent or not.

https://translate.google.com/translate? ... ge_id%3D85

User avatar
Fretless
Posts: 9294
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 12:15 pm
Location: Somewhere in Holland
Has thanked: 1488 times
Been thanked: 2280 times
Netherlands

Re: Life of Pi

Unread post by Fretless »

Tomanek from Poland. Looks to be about 70 euro. A couple of comments have reported it as being a good unit that noticeably improves the sound from a Pi.

Worth investigating.

Upstairs:
Vinyl
Pro-Ject 1.2 + Grado Sig Jr + Cambridge Alva Duo
DigiVolumio PC + Kiss DP-500 + Sabaj A20d
NVA: P50sa - Cube2 - SSP - LS6+ Sabaj A10a (x2)
Downstairs:
Vinyl
Logic DM101 + Syrinx LE1 + Grado Sig MCX
DigiDenafrips Ares II + Volumio PC + Cambridge CXC
NVA: P50 - BMU+ Aiyima A07 MAX (x2) + Arcam One
HP: HifiBerry Digi+ PRO + Sabaj A10d
Office:
Allo DigiOne SIG + SMSL M300se + Douk G4 (x2)
Mission 760 + Monolith THX AAA 887
Headphones: German Maestro & AudioQuest

User avatar
Fretless
Posts: 9294
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 12:15 pm
Location: Somewhere in Holland
Has thanked: 1488 times
Been thanked: 2280 times
Netherlands

Re: Life of Pi

Unread post by Fretless »

After the above discussion I decided to have a look at the Tomanek Ultra-Linear PSU - and ended up ordering one.

Image

https://translate.google.com/translate? ... ge_id%3D85

This 5V/3A power supply is based around a toroidal transformer from Toroidy in Poland, a company specialising in high-grade electrical components and featuring a line of purpose-built, low-noise, audiophile-grade transformers.
Some Dutch hi-fi forums have reported the units from Tomanek as being well-constructed and offering improved SQ. At one-third of the price of the equivalent SBooster models it might be very worthwhile.

A couple of emails to Tomanek and 90 euros transferred by PayPal - it's on its way !
More when it arrives. :music-listen:

Upstairs:
Vinyl
Pro-Ject 1.2 + Grado Sig Jr + Cambridge Alva Duo
DigiVolumio PC + Kiss DP-500 + Sabaj A20d
NVA: P50sa - Cube2 - SSP - LS6+ Sabaj A10a (x2)
Downstairs:
Vinyl
Logic DM101 + Syrinx LE1 + Grado Sig MCX
DigiDenafrips Ares II + Volumio PC + Cambridge CXC
NVA: P50 - BMU+ Aiyima A07 MAX (x2) + Arcam One
HP: HifiBerry Digi+ PRO + Sabaj A10d
Office:
Allo DigiOne SIG + SMSL M300se + Douk G4 (x2)
Mission 760 + Monolith THX AAA 887
Headphones: German Maestro & AudioQuest

Post Reply